Belt traverse device with jet means

ABSTRACT

A traverse device having a pair of counterrotating endless belts laced about spaced, offset pulleys providing linear belt spans lying in intersecting planes. The belts are adapted to circulate a plurality of traverse guides in counter, bypassing paths for reciprocably traversing a continuous strand or yarn in a winding operation. Fluid pressure jet means provide a flow of pressurized air to impinge upon and deflect the yarn in the reversal zones for effecting a positive, controlled transfer of the yarn from one traverse guide to another.

United States Patent lnventor Sam Wesley Burdge Cary. NC. Appl. No. 850,761 Filed Aug. 18, 1969 Patented June 22, 1971 Assignee Monsanto Company St. Louis, Mo.

BELT TRAVERSE DEVICE WITH JET MEANS 4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 242/43, 242/158 Int. Cl B65h 54/28 Field of Search 242/43, 158

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,294,327 12/ 1 966 Horwood 242/43 $489,359 l/197O Richter 242/43 3,49l,962 l/l970 Roberts 242/43 Primary Examiner-Stanley N. Gilreath Attorney-Stanley M. Tarter ABSTRACT: A traverse device having a pair of counterrotating endless belts laced about spaced, offset pulleys providing linear belt spans lying in intersecting planes. The belts are adapted to circulate a plurality of traverse guides in counter, bypassing paths for reciprocably traversing a continuous strand or yarn in a winding operation. Fluid pressure jet means provide a' flow of pressurized air to impinge upon and deflect the yarn in the reversal zones for effecting a positive, controlled transfer of the yarn from one traverse guide to another.

/i/Am PATENIEU-JUNZZIQ?! 3,586,251

SHEET 1 OF 2 5 74 60 \I 3 7 4/ 74 32 4 484464 72 2 {AW i 50 @12 6 I 6 4 6 g /7 I. 70 if) 9 9 e s II K. s

, 34 42 48 12 4 FIG. I. FIG. 3.

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INVENTOR. FIG. 2. SAM w. BURDGE AGENT PATENTEUJUNZZIHYI 3586251 SHEET 2 0F 2 INVENTOR. SAM w. BURDGE BY 1W AGENT BELT TRAVERSE DEVICE WITH JET MEANS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Yarn traverse devices of the general type having two belts arranged to provide an intersecting belt configuration and adapted to circulate guide members in counter directions for reciprocably displacing a yam have been suggested in the art. For example, US. Pat. No. 3,294,327 issued to J. M. Horwood, Dec. 27, 1966, discloses a traverse device of this type. The traverse device embodying the invention herein is an improvement to the'above category of known traverse devices with novel features being provided, basically, in the pulley arrangement for driving the belts and in the means for transferring a yarn from one guide to another in the reversals.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The traverse device embodying the invention comprises a pair of geared pulley assemblies having offset or eccentrically disposed pulleys with endless belts laced thereabout providing linear belt lengths or spans therebetween lying in intersecting planes. The belts are driven in opposite directions and carry spaced guide members on the outer periphery thereof for slidingly engaging with and traversingly displacing a yarn. The yarn is reciprocated back and forth by a guide on one belt displacing the yarn in one direction and a guide on the other belt displacing the yarn in the opposite direction in repeated, alternate sequence. The reversals at the ends of the traverse strokes are produced by the yarn being displaced by aguide into the path of a stream of pressurized air discharging from an orifice just prior to the instant that the yarn would normally slidingly disengage from the guide and be engaged by another moving in the opposite direction, The airstream provides a positive, controlled deflection and transfer of the yarn between guides at the ends of the traverse strokes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings,

FIG. I is a top plan view of the traverse device comprising the invention,

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken through 2-2 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken through 3-3 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken through 4-4 of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken through 5-5 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 6 is a schematic view taken along 5-5 of FIG. 2 having portions broken away to illustrate the intersecting belt arrangement, and

FIG. 7 is an exploded view, with portions broken away, illustrating the gear train arrangement of the traverse device.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the traverse device of the invention, as illustrated in the drawings, comprises a pair of spaced pulley assemblies, 2 and 4, mounted in a housing including cover plates, 6 and 8, and a center plate 10 arranged and fastened in stacked relation.

Pulley assembly 4, FIG. 2, consists of a shaft 12 extending transversely through openings in a bearing retainer 14, cover plates 6 and 8, and an eccentric bearing adapter 16 secured to cover plate 8. Shaft 12 is journaled in spaced bearings 18 and 20. Bearing 18 is mounted in cover plate 6 and is retained by bearing retainer 14 secured to cover plate 6. Bearing 20 is mounted in bearing adapter 16 and is retained by a bearing retainer 22 which is secured to bearing adapter I6.

A pair of pulleys, 24 and 26, are arranged about shaft 12, each at opposite sides of center plate 10. Pulley 24 is keyed to shaft 12 by a key 28 and has a collar or hub 30 formed at one side thereof extending into an opening 32 provided in center plate 10. A drive-gear 34 is mounted on hub 30 and is secured to pulley 24. Pulley 26 is mounted on a bearing 36 that is mounted on an annular eccentric collar or hub 38 extending from bearing adapter 16 spacingly about shaft 12. The axis of rotation of pulley 26 is about the center of eccentric hub 38, thus pulley 26 is offset or eccentrically disposed with respect to the center of rotation of pulley 24.

Pulley assembly 2 is similar in structure to pulley assembly 4, however, assembly 2 is mounted reversibly in the housing so that a cross section thereof corresponding to FIG. 2, would appear as a mirror image of assembly 4. The components of assembly 2 which are similar to the components of assembly 4 are identified in the drawings by like reference numerals, with primes added.

Pulley assembly 4 is driven by a motor 40 connected to shaft 12, and pulley assembly 2 is driven through a gear train composed of gears 34, 42, 44, and 34', as illustrated in FIG. 7. Drive gear 34 is fastened to pulley 24 and gear 34 is fastened to pulley 24'. Gears 42 and 44 are each rotatably journaled about a respective bearing 46, as shown in FIG. 4,'mounted and retained on a respective stub shaft 48 suitably fixed in cover plate 6. It will be noted that pulleys 24 and 24 are keyed to their respective shafts 12 and I2 and are driven in opposite directions, whereas, pulleys 26 and 26' are mounted with their centers offset from the centers of shafts I2 and 12, are journaled axially about corresponding eccentric hubs 38, 38' and bearings 36 and 36', respectively, and are driven in opposite directions by belts 50 and 52, respectively.

Belt 50 laces around pulleys 24 and 26 and belt 52 laces around pulleys 26 and 24. Since offset pulleys 26 and 26 are arranged in diagonal positions, the upper straight portion or span of belt'50 rotates clockwise and downwardly from pulley 24 to 26 while the upper straight portion or span ofbelt 52 rotates counterclockwise and downwardly from pulley 24 to pulley 26 so that their paths of motion cross at a point substantially midway therebetween, as viewed in FIG. 6.

A plurality of similar yarn-engaging tabs or guides are secured spacingly on each belt with guides 54 on belt 50 and guides 56 on belt 52. The guides extend outwardly from the belts and are arranged so that in operation a guide on one belt bypasses a guide on the other belt, alternately, at defined yarn reversal points. The reversal points, which are also the yarn transfer points, are preferably aligned substantially vertically above the axes of rotation of the pulley assemblies 2 and 4, as viewed in FIG. 5 for example, and are spaced a distance equal to the desired length of the yarn package to be wound. One of the reversal points is illustrated in FIG. 6, wherein a yarn 58 is shown being transferred from guide 54 to guide 56.

Adjacent to the upper linear spans of the belts, FIG. 5, center plate 10 projects outwardly to provide a longitudinal slot 60 defined by guide bars 72 and 74 affixed to the center plate 10 with a string-up slot 62 leading thereto, FIGS. 1, 3, and 5. In use, a yarn 58 is laced through slot 62 and is traversed back and forth in slot 60.

The center plate 10 has a pair of spaced orifices or jets 64 positioned to discharge a stream of air against the yarn 58 at the reversal or transfer points. Each jet 64 is open to a passage 66 in center plate 10, and passage 66 communicates with a port 68 in cover plate 6. Port 68 is connected to a source of pressurized air through a coupling 70, FIG. 4. While not shown, it is contemplated for reasons of economy that a rotary valve may be provided in port 68 to meter pressurized air to the jets 64 in synchronized pulses only during the time required to effect the transfer of yarn from one traverse guide to another.

In operation, the yarn 58 will be constrained to take a linear path through slot 60 while being traversed back and forth by guides 54 and 56, by the related positions of the takeup bobbin or rolls at one side of the traverse device, and a guide at the opposite side thereof, not shown. Preferably, the yarn will be laced in so as to be traversed back and forth linearly along the rounded surface defining slot 60 opposite the guide bars 72 and 74. Preferably, all yarn-engaging surfaces will be smooth and polished.

Operatively, guides 54 and 56 circulate and displace the yarn, alternately, back and forth through slot 60. Each guide, from the time of engagement with the yarn to the point of disengagement therefrom, moves slidingly away from the yarn because of the sloped path of the belt relative to the linear traversing path of the yarn. When a guide displaces the yarn to the point of reversal, as shown in FIG. 6, where the yarn 58 is about to be transferred from guide 54 to guide 56, the yarn will be at the tip of guide 54 and directly in line of the flow of pressurized air from one of the jets 64, FIG. 3. The pressurized air deflects the yarn slightly but sufficiently to provide a positive disengagement of the yarn from guide 54 before engagement by guide 56 moving counter to guide 54.

The traverse device is shown with two guides located on each belt, however, it will be understood that the numbers used will depend on the operational and structural design.

I claim:

1. In a belt traverse device of the type providingjuxtaposed belt spans driven in opposed directions and having guides mounted thereon to displace a yarn back and forth traversingly along a controlled path and to effect a transfer of the yarn from one guide to another at opposed reversal ends of the traverse strokes, the improvement comprising in combina tion, fluid pressure means positioned to direct a stream of pressurized air against the yarn in the reversals for deflecting the yarn disengagingly from said one guide.

2. A belt traverse device for traversing a yarn comprising,

pulley means including a pair of oppositely driven and a pair of offset,journaled pulleys,

a pair of endless belts each looped about a respective driven and a respective offset pulley and positioned in close adjacency providing at least one pair of linear belt spans traveling in counter directions and having an intersecting relation therebetween,

means defining a longitudinal slot and a lace-up slot opening thereto adjacent said one pair of linear belt spans,

spaced guide members on each of said belts for traversing a yarn reciprocably within said longitudinal slot by effecting a transfer of the yarn from a guide on one belt to a guide on the other belt at opposed reversal ends of the traverse strokes, and

fluid pressure means to direct a stream of air against the yarn in the reversals for deflecting the yarn disengagingly from one of said guide members whereby the yarn is engaged substantially instantaneously by another of said guide members moving in the opposite direction.

3. A belt traverse device for traversing a yarn comprising,

a housing providing a longitudinal slot having an opening thereto,

a pair of spaced shafts mounted rotatably in said housing,

power means for driving one of said pair of shafts in one direction,

a pair of pulleys mounted on each of said pair of shafts, one pulley of each pair being fixed on its corresponding shaft and the other being rotatably mounted in offset relation thereabout, the fixed and rotatable pulleys on one shaft being reversibly arranged relative to the pulleys on the other shaft,

gear means interconnecting said shafts and fixed pulleys thereon providing counterdirection rotation thereof,

a respective belt looped about a fixed pulley on one shaft and an offset pulley on the other shaft, the belts providing at least one pair of linear belt spans stretching adjacently to said longitudinal slot and lying in intersecting planes,

guide members on each of said belts for traversingly displacing a yarn positioned in said longitudinal slot, a guide member on one belt arranged to bypass a guide member on the other belt at predetermined reversal points to effect a transfer of the yarn from one guide member moving in one direction to another guide member moving in the opposite direction, and

means for directing a stream of pressurized air against the yarn in said reversal points toeffect a positive disengagement of the yarn from said one guide member.

4. A belt traverse device as in claim 3, in which said means for directin a stream of pressurized air comprises orifices open to sat longitudinal slot and having axes aligned substan- 

1. In a belt traverse device of the type providing juxtaposed belt spans driven in opposed directions and having guides mounted thereon to displace a yarn back and forth traversingly along a controlled path and to effect a transfer of the yarn from one guide to another at opposed reversal ends of the traverse strokes, the improvement comprising in combination, fluid pressure means positioned to direct a stream of pressurized air against the yarn in the reversals for deflecting the yarn disengagingly from said one guide.
 2. A belt traverse device for traversing a yarn comprising, pulley means including a pair of oppositely driven and a pair of offset, journaled pulleys, a pair of endless belts each looped about a respective driven and a respective offset pulley and positioned in close adjacency providing at least one pair of linear belt spans traveling in counter directions and having an intersecting relation therebetween, means defining a longitudinal slot and a lace-up slot opening thereto adjacent said one pair of linear belt spans, spaced guide members on each of said belts for traversing a yarn reciprocably within said longitudinal slot by effecting a transfer of the yarn from a guide on one belt to a guide on the other belt at opposed reversal ends of the traverse strokes, and fluid pressure means to direct a stream of air against the yarn in the reversals for deflecting the yarn disengagingly from one of said guide members whereby the yarn is engaged substantially instantaneously by another of said guide members moving in the opposite direction.
 3. A belt traverse device for traversing a yarn comprising, a housing providing a longitudinal slot having an opening thereto, a pair of spaced shafts mounted rotatably in said housing, power means for driving one of said pair of shafts in one direction, a pair of pulleys mounted on each of said pair of shafts, one pulley of each pair being fixed on its corresponding shaft and the other being rotatably mounted in ofFset relation thereabout, the fixed and rotatable pulleys on one shaft being reversibly arranged relative to the pulleys on the other shaft, gear means interconnecting said shafts and fixed pulleys thereon providing counterdirection rotation thereof, a respective belt looped about a fixed pulley on one shaft and an offset pulley on the other shaft, the belts providing at least one pair of linear belt spans stretching adjacently to said longitudinal slot and lying in intersecting planes, guide members on each of said belts for traversingly displacing a yarn positioned in said longitudinal slot, a guide member on one belt arranged to bypass a guide member on the other belt at predetermined reversal points to effect a transfer of the yarn from one guide member moving in one direction to another guide member moving in the opposite direction, and means for directing a stream of pressurized air against the yarn in said reversal points to effect a positive disengagement of the yarn from said one guide member.
 4. A belt traverse device as in claim 3, in which said means for directing a stream of pressurized air comprises orifices open to said longitudinal slot and having axes aligned substantially perpendicularly to the central axis of the yarn being traversed, said orifices being connected to a source of air under pressure. 